Bangladesh deploys border guards to St Martin’s Island to tighten security

The government has deployed Border Guard Bangladesh or BGB personnel to St Martin’s Island for the first time in more than two decades to ramp up security.

A platoon of BGB personnel started for the island, one of the favourite tourist attractions in the coastal district of Cox’s Bazar, on Sunday morning on orders from the high-ups, a BGB official said.

The BGB personnel will work along with the Coast Guard to stop smuggling and trafficking in human and drugs through the island bordering Myanmar, according to BGB Teknaf-2 Battalion Acting Commander Lt Col Sarker Md Mostafizur Rahman.

“It’s part of a routine job,” he said.

Over 100 BGB troopers arrived on the island around 12pm, St Martin’s union council Chairman Noor Ahmad told bdnews24.com.

Some 30 BGB men have already been on the island since Mar 30, he said.

The presence of the heavily armed troopers has created anxiety among the residents of the island, he added.

Border guards were stationed on the island until 1997.

The job to ensure security there was transferred to the Coast Guard after the formation of the force, BGB’s Mostafizur said.